1/8/2009 11:38:14 AMI'm doing my best here to move on. Maryland is going to lose games because they are lacking skill in some fundamental errors. What happened last night however is a different story. Laying an egg against MEAC school is disgraceful. The lack of effort and concentration to the task at hand is inexusable (class isn't even in session by the way!).

However, I need to keep reminding myself that this team is comprised of 18-22 year old kids. Inevitably, these things will happen. The real question is how do you respond to a set back like this?

The ACC season begins on Saturday. There is much at stake. Can Gary Williams quiet the calls that he has lost his touch? Can a team clearly missing important pieces find a way to prove everyone wrong (even their fans, students, and alumni) and acheive success?

Indeed, the next 16 games will determine much about the future of our program. If I could give the Terps a pep talk; I would use the words uttered by the great Juan Dixon after he slayed yet another dragon (Kansas) enroute to Maryland's only National Title in 2002:

"I'm a winner. I've been a winner all my life. I've beaten all odds since I was a kid. I believe in myself."

That's it, boys. That is what lies between you and a great year. For if a 6'3" 165 lb shooting guard, who lost his parents due to a vicious cocktail of AIDS and drug abuse can put an entire University on his back and lead them to the promised land; then so too can these young men-- the inheritors of the Dixonian legacy.